Madder Mortem

After my disappointment with Madder Mortem's latest album, Eight Ways, the Where Dream and Day Collide EP is a tantalizing, but too short reminder of what the band are capable of. The title track is one of the more interestingly subtle songs off the full album, and though the two versions here aren't substantially different, they're good enough to hear in quick succession without getting bored or fed up. The other three EP tracks go off in varied directions, demonstrating a little of Madder Mortem's potential range. The first, "Jitterheart," builds off a thundering blues shuffle, steamrolling on ahead with enough lighter breaks to just catch your breath. The second, "The Purest Strain," is even more upbeat, going for a slightly jazzier, vaudeville kind of vibe, with maybe a touch of rockabilly thrown in for good measure. Rounding out the EP is a much softer number, "Quietude," which takes its title seriously. It's a moody, introspectively flowing piece of music ― shoegazer, even. All this makes me wonder again what went wrong with Eight Ways and why exactly does this shorter Madder Mortem sampling get it so right?